ASHLAND — The Ashland Area Municipal Authority board received an update on its reservoir raising project from Alfred Benesch & Co. senior designer Natalie L. O’Connor at its Jan. 25 meeting.
“We anticipate the underwater work to begin in the spring when water surface elevation has returned to normal,” O’Connor said. “Upon completion of upstream closures, the downstream valve replacements can be completed by KC Construction.”
The water authority is near the end of a reservoir upgrade project mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The main task was raising the dam breast by 5 feet so it can better handle major storm events by having water flow through the spillway rather than over the dam walls, which increases safety to communities downstream of the dam.
O’Connor said routine monitoring of groundwater pressure has stopped temporarily.
“We have been monitoring the piezometers on a weekly basis and submitting to DEP,” O’Connor said. “Due to the current snowfall, DEP has approved the suspension of further readings until the snow melts.”
A piezometer is a device that measures the pressure of groundwater at a specific point.